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- Convenors:
-
JOHANNA DOMOKOS
(Károli University, Bielefeld University, MMKI Budapest)
Michal Kovář (Charles University, Prague)
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- Discussants:
-
JOHANNA DOMOKOS
(Károli University, Bielefeld University, MMKI Budapest)
Dorijan Hajdu (University of Belgrade)
Michal Kovář (Charles University, Prague)
Ildikó Tamás (HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network)
Michael Rießler (University of Eastern Finland)
- Format:
- Panel+Roundtable
Short Abstract:
Unwriting with art and activism the colonial narratives imposed on the Indigenous Sámi culture involves reclaiming their oral traditions, knowledge of the land, and ancestral practices, allowing their stories and identities to flourish beyond the boundaries of imposed histories.
Long Abstract:
This panel seeks to explore effective unwriting practices in the dynamic and evolving cultural landscape of the Sámi, the Indigenous peoples of Sápmi, whose traditional lands stretch across northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. The Sámi have long maintained a rich cultural heritage characterized by oral traditions, reindeer herding, duodji (handicrafts), yoik (traditional singing), and a deep connection to their natural environment. However, the past century has also seen significant transformations driven by external pressures such as modernization, climate change, state policies, and global Indigenous movements. These changes have prompted Sámi communities to develop new cultural expressions and forms of resilience.
The panel will bring together ethnologists, folklorists, anthropologists, and Sámi scholars to discuss the role tradition in contemporary Sámi cultural developments. It will consider how traditional knowledge systems are being reinterpreted in modern contexts, how Sámi identity is expressed in urban and transnational spaces, and the role of digital platforms in safeguarding and transforming Sámi arts. The panel will also address critical issues reflected in their arts related to land rights, climate justice, and cultural sovereignty in light of global environmental challenges.
Accepted contributions:
Session 1Contribution long abstract:
Language is one of the main pillars of identity. But as the society commonly consists of many micro spheres, the general (or standard) variety of L1 as an unbrella term is usually not specific enough to function as an identity marker inside said society and on everyday basis, and would in fact often be contrasted against for this reason in particular. One's own (micro)variety of the language is consequently used in order to transmit metalingual information on one's belonging within the society, contrasting with other groups (be it geographical, social, cultural etc), and indexing that particular group identity. This presentation/paper will - from a sociolinguistic and cultural perspective - explore the common use of a particular language variety in order to index the speaker's identity and group belonging, both in vernacular and in literature, comparing different varieties of Swedish - the varieties spoken in Scania, within the immigrant population, the Sami, and the Swedish speaking Finns, as well as some other languages and cultural surroundings to offer broader view and add contrast.
Contribution short abstract:
Although the term artivism gained prominence following a 1997 gathering of Chicano artists, the phenomenon itself is much older. One early example is the Sámi CSV ethnocultural movement of the 1970s and 1980s. Groundbreaking literary works such as Nils-Aslak Valkeapää's Terveisiä Lapista (1971) and Kirsti Paltto's Saamelaiset (1973) paved the way for artistic and activist expressions of Sámi identity and sovereignty. Building on this legacy while addressing contemporary urgent issues, the interdisciplinary project Rájácummá – Kiss from the Border (2017–2018) was created by artists Niillas Holmberg, Jenni Laiti, and Outi Pieski. The project integrates environmental community art, poetry, and visual media to engage themes of language contact, cultural identity, and sovereignty. Set within the Deatnu River valley, a borderland between Finland and Norway, Rájácummá comprises eight poetic lines installed in the natural landscape, alongside eight photographs and a lithograph. These elements critically examine Sámi self-determination and sustainable practices concerning land and waterways. Central to the project is the positioning of language as a bridge between culture and the environment, emphasizing reciprocity and respect as core principles of life in the border region. The eight poetic lines, notably written in Sámi rather than the official languages of the bordering states, exemplify this approach. Through its poetic and visual narratives, Rájácummá reimagines mobility and coexistence, rejecting rigid national boundaries in favor of approaches rooted in the natural and cultural dynamics of the area. By granting equal status to nature and humanity, the project advocates for a vision of sustainable living informed by Sámi traditions and perspectives. This presentation explores how Rájácummá reflects acts of writing and unwriting in its multilingual Sámi and Nordic context while addressing broader cultural and ecological dimensions. It highlights the capacity of literature and art to transcend linguistic and geopolitical borders, fostering dialogue about environmental justice, cultural resilience, and pathways to decolonial futures.
Contribution long abstract:
Contribution short abstract:
Within These Walls is an artistic research project that examines the role of the home in European individuals personal and cultural identities. Using visual methods and qualitative research, the project explores how living spaces reflect identity, belonging, and societal challenges. By documenting Sámi homes, often overlooked in broader European contexts, the project provides an intimate and authentic insight. The project also includes perspectives from Bulgarian and German communities, offering a comparative European context. By capturing unaltered photographs and conducting interviews, the project highlights both the individualities and differences as well as commonalities and similarities between these cultures. In addition to the research the findings will culminate in a multilingual book and an immersive exhibition to make it accessible to a wider public.
Contribution long abstract:
The artistic research project Within These Walls aims to examine the role of several European peoples, including Sámi people and their homes. Using visual methods and qualitative psychological research, the project seeks to understand how homes reflect personal and cultural identities. Within These Walls explores how living spaces shape identity and belonging and how in turn cultural identity and society is reflected in these private spaces.
The Sámi people are central to this project because understanding their homes provides deeper insight into their identities and culture, which remain relatively unknown across much of Europe, and by focusing on their living spaces the project gives an intimate and real insight into their lives.
In addition the project includes perspectives from Bulgarian and German communities. By including several European peoples, we offer a broader platform for amplifying underrepresented perspectives while providing a European context. Comparing the domestic spaces of Sámi, German, and Bulgarian people will help make the project more accessible to those who have never encountered these cultures as well as offer scientific insight into both the differences and similarities across these homes.
We will visit people in their homes, capturing photographs of them in their unaltered environments. The goal is to document these spaces as authentically as possible, reflecting the genuine heart of each home and individual. We will additionally interview participants. In addition to our research, the project will result in a multilingual book and an immersive exhibition to make the findings more accessible to the public.
Contribution short abstract:
In my paper, I analyze the cultural and social roles of clothing, primarily in relation to identity and interethnic relations. Traditional clothing (gákti) and its modern variations represent multiple meanings for the Sámi, not only through colors and patterns but also through the creation-process.
Contribution long abstract:
I outline how certain iconic elements of Sámi culture are used in both national and international contexts based on inductive studies. The Sámi, who live in four countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia), are the only indigenous people in the European Union and play a significant role in international indigenous movements. While today the Sámi have autonomy (except in Russia) and have their parliaments in the three Scandinavian countries, they encountered significant oppression until the mid-20th century. Their cultural values were often stigmatized and marginalized. The oppression resulted in a process of assimilation and the disappearance of many cultural elements. In the mid-20th century, a Sámi intellectual group put these stigmatized cultural components at the center of a revitalization process. This movement became so successful that by the final decades of the century, Sámi culture not only strengthened but also gained popularity beyond its ethnic boundaries. By the 21st century, Sámi traditional clothing, and visual motifs had become widely accepted, often appearing in non-Sámi contexts as well, including media events, tourism, and commerce. However, this widespread use has usually not been regarded with pleasure by the Sámi community. It has – as an example – led to even international copyright disputes. The Sámi are trying to prevent or at least limit the free use of their cultural assets by outsiders. I briefly outline some examples when the use of Sámi cultural traits (like Sámi clothing) called forth serious reactions and social movements because the Sámi community considered them as cultural colonization.
Contribution short abstract:
The paper discusses challenges in the process of translation of indegenous poetry of the North. It examines unpublished fluid transaltions cited and circulated in lectures, seminars, conversations and social media images. What lies behind the unwritten translation? How is it related to other attitudes of Unwriting in the contemporary world?
Contribution long abstract:
The paper discusses contexts and challenges in the process of translation and publishing of indigenous poetry of the North based on author’s translation and editing work on poems by Alootook Ipellie, Jalvii Niillas Holmberg, Inger-Mari Aikio and Sara Margrethe Oskal. It examines creation and distribution of Unwritten poetry translations – unpublished but cited and circulated in lectures, seminars and conversations as well as in images in social media translations of indigenous poetry. The focus is on the background and reasons which keep these fluid and variable. What lies behind the unwritten translation? How is it related to other attitudes of Unwriting in the contemporary world? The translation of the poems is also viewed as a multilingual transfer of a multilingual space to another multilingual space. The immanent nature of poetry to forward cultural memory deserves the new Unwritten and the awareness that - as with quantum computers -, the means of proving the multiverse of the memory of the North are changing it at the same time. The awareness of the translation as erasing memory in the act of keeping it demands a very precise picture of the transfer itself. Sociopolitical aspects in the translation process related to personal narratives and heritage contexts, representation and risks for tongueism add to that picture.